NDSP: Stranded Cadets Recount 10 Years Abandonment In Philippines 

Cadets of the Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency (NIMASA) on the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) in the Philippines for their Certificate of Competency (CoC) who were reportedly barred to engage the Embassy in Manila, may have spent close to ten years in Asia under the guise of study.

 

The trending video revealed that the cadets  are not in good living condition.

 

The video also revealed that the stranded students who were rejected by the Nigerian Embassy in Philippines,   are calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria to come to their rescue.

 

Video footage revealed a security man suspected to be a citizen of the  Philippines, by name Gomez J.D.M appealing to the cadets that the Nigerian Embassy officials gave the instructions for them not to allow the students gain entry into the building.

 

One of the cadet in the trending video, who took pain to narrative their ordeal in the Philippines said “We were sent to the Philippines to study Marine Engineer and Maritime Transportation under the Nigeria Seafarers Development Programme for four years but it is ten years down the line.

 

 

“I have wasted ten years of my life here and same goes to my colleagues now we are in the last lapse of the programme yet the embassy has refused us….

 

 

In a press statement issued on Thursday by the Nigerian embassy, it states that the Cadets were protesting against NIMASA and trying to make their grievances and demands known.

 

However, they failed to conduct themselves properly, and acted in total disrespect to the country.

 

 

The statement reads in part “The Embassy of Nigeria, Manila wishes to refer to allegations against the Embassy making the rounds through videos on social media posted by some disgruntled NIMASA cadets on the 5th of October, 2022, where they accused the Embassy of refusing them access to the building to protest their grievances against NIMASA.

 

“The Embassy wishes to inform that the said cadets did not have any scheduled appointment with the Embassy on the sad date which is in defiant to the rules of Estate managements in the Philippines.

 

“As such, the Estate/ Barangay reserves the right to prohibit persons from entering the premises without an appointment.

 

“Secondly, the cadets did not submit any formal notification of protest to the Philippine Authorities before they embarked on the protest. This explains why there were a lot of police men present at the scene where the unruly cadets were disturbing the peace of the residents in the area and obstructing vehicular traffic.

 

“It is pertinent to mention that the officials of the Embassy went to meet with the defiant cadets at the entrance of the estate to listen to their complaints which were delivered in a very insulting and demeaning manner with no regard for the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on whose sponsorship they were in the Philippines in the first place.

 

“Kindly note that all complaints from the cadets have since been communicated to the relevant authorities in NIMASA and the Embassy waits further directives in that regard” it states